A CONSORTIUM headed by Denmark's Maersk Air has emerged as the winner of the race to take control of Estonian Airlines. Scandinavian Airlines System had battled to win the privatisation contest, to secure its grip on the Baltic.
Maersk Air, together with Danish investment group Baltic Creco, is reported to be negotiating the final details of a bid to take over a 66% share in the Estonian carrier. The cost of the shares and fleet renewal is expected to be around EKr200 million ($16 million).
Maersk has already said that it intends to return the carrier to profits within the next two to three years and replace its remaining four Russian-built aircraft. Estonian, which lost EKr26 million in 1995, operates four Yakovlev Yak-40s, two Boeing 737-500s and some of its eight Tupolev Tu-134s.
The Danish carrier is expected to open links between its Billund hub and Estonian capital Tallin, creating a hub for east-bound traffic.
Source: Flight International
